Wildcats come away with a 22 point win

PITTSFORD — The bleachers at Pittsford High School looked like a sea of pink Thursday night as the community turned out to show their support for one of their own who is battling breast cancer.

Pittsford Elementary School third-grade teacher Kristi Saunders was diagnosed with breast cancer a little over a year ago and is currently taking chemotherapy. Dressed in pink shirt with her name on it reading “We Wear Pink for Mrs. Saunders” the fans and student body cheered on the Pittsford girls basketball team as they took on Jackson Christian.

It was also senior night for the Wildcats as all players on the varsity and junior varsity team were recognized before the game.

The Wildcats looking to go into district competition on a high note took control of the game midway through the first quarter and never looked back. The Wildcats beat the Royals by a final of 58-36.

Both teams started off slow in the first quarter struggling to get the ball through the hoop. It wasn’t until the midway mark of the quarter when coach Chris Hodos put his second team in that the Wildcats got things rolling.

The Wildcats outscored the Royals 12-2 in the quarter.

“We have been starting off slow,” Hodos said. “I think we played extremely hard tonight.”

The Wildcats pressure defense caused 10 turnovers in the first half on the Royals. Leading the way in the first half for the Wildcats was freshman Laura Smith and senior Laura Clark. Both girls had seven points They went on to lead the team in scoring with 13 points apiece.

The Wildcats had balanced scoring on the night as all but two of the 11 players that saw minutes scored.

The team is on a six game winning streak and is looking to maintain the momentum as they finish out the season and head into districts. The Wildcats have two remaining conference road games at Camden-Frontier and Waldron before they turn around and host Camden-Frontier during the first round of districts.

“Now is the perfect time to be hitting our stride,” Hodos said.

Looking ahead Hodos said his team needs to work on taking care of the ball. The Wildcats turned the ball over 24 times in the game.

“Everyone is capable of beating anyone else this time of year,” he said. “We also need to work on our pressure defense.”